


A Pair of Stars

by silver_inked



Category: Soy Luna (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27035677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_inked/pseuds/silver_inked
Summary: What if Ambar knew Luna before the Benson Mansion fire? What if before the blackmailing, Ambar and the Bensons were all a united family? What if there was so much more behind the death of Lily, Bernie and Sol Benson?"A pit of sorrow rang within Ambar, she could have had a family, a real one. Not Sharon and her pity excuse of love and attention, not the mere expectation of being perfect in order to fit in under this roof. Lily and Bernie would have listened to her, on those long nights when her godmother locked herself in her room for days. Or at least she would have had a “cousin” growing up, whom she could talk to. The pictures proved it."
Relationships: Gastina, Lutteo - Relationship, eventual Simbar
Kudos: 15





	1. Morning Star.

There was a sense of urgency in the way Ambar walked, every impact against the floor more distressed than the last. But where was she? Somewhere in the mansion for sure, but not anywhere that she had ever entered. Ambar cursed under her breath. It was just like her godmother to hide an entire corridor from her. 

A force of rage roared through her, elongating down her spine and up to the tips of her fingers. Giving out a long breath, her face blushed with newfound anger. Wasn’t it enough that Matteo preferred Luna? Or that Vidia had alienated Ambar, and painted her as the villain? And now, not only was Luna popular at her school, at roller rink, and social media channel, but she was also a common word in Alfedo’s vocabulary. Luna’s destruction in Ambar’s life never stopped growing. 

Luna consumed everything Ambar held dear, with her bright ugly smile and dumb perky positive additude. Ambar was perfect, every single detail about her was ideal, and yet her popularity and social life kept drowning by the minute. 

The last thing Ambar wanted to deal with was with Lunita at 2 in the morning. But if she could catch Luna in the act of anything slightly wrong, maybe she could frame her and finally get Luna out of her life. What was Luna doing roaming around the mansion anyways? 

Ambar turned left, or was it right? Towards what seemed like another side of the mansion, hidden and worn down from years of abandonment. And then suddenly she was back in her living room. 

Letting out a deep breath she walked towards the picture frames lined up against the chimney’s rim. At least she was somewhere familiar now. First she would take a small rest and then try to turn back to the hidden hallway. That is, if she could find it again. 

There were more pictures on the ledge than normal. The usual few pictures of her godmother were now replaced by dozens of pictures of their family. Alfredo with her and Sol, Lily running through the house chasing the two toddlers, Lily and Bernie watching the sunset, her godmother having dinner with extended family. Everything that Ambar never got to know, everything that was taken from her and everything her godmother locked in the past.

A pit of sorrow rang within Ambar, she could have had a family, a real one. Not Sharon and her pity excuse of love and attention, not the mere expectation of being perfect in order to fit in under this roof. Maybe Lily and Bernie would have listened to her, on those long nights when her godmother locked herself in her room for days. Or at least she would have had a cousin growing up, whom she could talk to. These pictures proved it. 

Ambar’s eyes watered as she picked up a picture of Sharon. It was one of the newer ones. Sharon sat in the garden with her cold stare triumphant smile. Sharon had never loved Ambar like she deserved, instead Sharon was guiltlessly proud of the quiet emotionless girl Ambar had become. Sharon never cared about damage she had done to Ambar’s heart.

Ambar lifted her arm, and with the strength of her anger and jealousy from the past year, she lifted her arm to strike. Luna had all the love Ambar deserved to have, and even excess of it. So why did she have to take the small amount of love Alfredo gave Ambar? Why was Luna so self-

The picture frame splattered with a crash, braking in a million splintering pieces across the floor. 

Sharon’s stern yell called out from another room. Her voice was scratchy and panicked _Ambar!! Ambar!! Where are you?_

Ambar rolled her eyes as she tried to gather up her emotions, “I’m over here godmother, it’s not a big deal, we literally bought this ages ago,” he voice bounced back with annoyance. Bending down to start cleaning she noticed something strange. On the ground made out of the billions of shards scattered on the paved floor was a small word. _Run!_

A sudden chill ran through Ambar. And this time as she listened to her godmother call out she could hear a scary determination and panic in Sharon’s voice. Ambar only heard her yell like that on her worst days. The days in which Ambar was to blame, and when she was left alone to the silence of the empty mansion. 

Ambar rose slowly. The mansion walls had grown three times taller and the blue paint was replaced by a pink flowery pattern. There was something so oddly familiar to it all. Looking down she saw her hands had shrunk into a chubby baby fists. She was suddenly a child again.

Like magic, in seconds the walls burst into flames. The mansion was suddenly filled with thick black smoke and flames surrounding on all sides. 

_“Ambar! Thank God we found you!”_

It was Lily, caring baby Sol in her arms. Lily lifted Ambar into her free arm and gave her a kiss on her forehead. 

_“You're safe now love.”_

Lily ran into a sprint, dogging the flames and the burning walls as the rubble and wood fell. As they continued down the halls she called out for her husband Bernie in a hurried plea.

But it wasn’t until they were almost to an exit that he arrived. He held a packet of documents and a golden key in his hands. Grabbing Sol from Lily’s arms they both went for the door. 

Ambar shivered as she heard the cold voice of Sharon approaching, “ _Ambar! There you are.”_

Ambar felt a sudden tug from her leg. She almost screamed. Sharon was younger now. She looked calmer, happier and yet there was something deeply wrong about how she looked at Lily with such burning hate. 

_“How dare you! “_ Lily yelled. Backing away from her sister. “ _Don’t think we don’t know what you have done._ ”

_“But can you prove it,”_ Sharon smiled.

This time it was Bernie’s turn to answer. His eyes were filled with fear. _“Sharon you have to stop this! We need to get out of here!_

Sharon scoffed and jumped forward. Pushing Lily forcefully towards the flames, Sharon took advantage of Lily’s loss of balance and ripped Ambar from Lily’s grasp. Sol cried out as they fell, before starting to cry.

_“Shar don't- “_ But Sharon has already sprinted in the other direction.

Bernie lept toward Lily and dropped Sol and the documents into Lily’s hands. “ _Get Sol out of here! I’ll get Ambar! I love you.”_

Lily paused only for a second before leaving the flames.

Ambar stood motionless in Sharon’s arms as she ran. Her baby eyes watched the flames grow around them at an alarming rate. They ran through heaps of flames as Bernie chased after them from one room to the next. Sharon would not stop, a flare of panic seemed to be forever etched in her eyes.

Finally they entered a room without exits.

_“Sharon you can’t do this! You aren’t well! We need to get out of here, this place is falling down at any moment!”_

_“Do you promise you won’t take Ambar away from me?”_

_“You aren’t well Sharon…”_

_“See! You were going to take her away! “_

_“You aren’t well! It would only be until we can fix up the damage that has been done!”_

_“We can’t just fix years of my sister messing up my life! We can’t fix this burning place! We can’t fix the fact that this is all your fault! This was all supposed to be mine! You were supposed to be mine!”_

Bernie’s eyes go cold. 

“ _But it isn’t Sharon! And right now we need to get Ambar out of here. Do you really want your blackmailing and scheming to kill us all?”_

Sharon’s eyes narrowed. “ _I was aiming for the documents, not your stupid mansion. And now they are all gone. You can’t prove anything.”_

_“Give me Ambar. “_

Ambar trembles as she feels herself begin to cry. 

Bernie’s eyes softened as he watched Ambar, and oddly enough love showed in his eyes. 

_“It’s over, come home. Ambar can grow up with all of us. You. Are. Not. Well. Look at Ambar, don’t you want her to grow up with you, with your family, with us?”_

Sharon looked down at Ambar, and for the first time that Ambar could remember Sharon gave her a loving glance. 

_“We will make sure you grow up with Ambar, that she gets the best education that she gets to grow happy.”_

Sharon smiles sadly, her shoulders relax as she looks around the flaming building. Tired and losing air from the smoke she walks towards Bernie. Giving Ambar into his arms she curses Lily’s name under her breath. 

_“Let’s get out of here.”_

Together they ran, holding hands to not separate from each other. They just needed to get to a door or an open window. 

And then there it was. Sharon exited the mansion first. Lily ran towards Sharon and embraced her in a loving embrace. Lily’s eyes burned with anger, but even that could wait until the rest had come out. 

But that’s when the building began to fall. The entrance was slowly coming undone by the weight of the fire above. The firefighters arriving warned them to get away from the building in the case of an explosion. 

Lily ran in without warning, entering the rubble of flames in hopes of finding her husband and her niece. But she found nothing. Bernie was not where to be seen. 

And there she was. Ambar, the sweet little girl her sister had adopted, was crying as the flames of a burning bookshelf inched closer. But Bernie was still nowhere to be seen. In a moment of panic she took Ambar into her arms and decided to get the girl to safety first. Lily went towards the door. 

Suddenly Ambar felt herself fly as she was thrown out of the mansion’s door. The cold hands of her godmother grabbed her off the floor and then they ran. In seconds, the beam fell and the entrance exploded. 

Sharon reached out and gave Ambar to one of the medics. Falling to the ground she seemed to laugh a little before collapsing and crying. 

_“It will be worth it, it will be worth it. The money is mine. Ambar is mine.”_ She cried softly 

Almost reaching consciousness Ambar looked around for Sol, but instead she was met with Luna’s eyes as Sol followed a young employee out of the garden walls. 

Waking up to a start Ambar rolled around in her bed. Her eyes were heavy from sleep. She tried to remember her dream. It was an unusual one. Not like the Delfi flying or Simon being in her dreams unusual, but something else. Ambar sighs. It almost felt as if she had been hit by a sudden realization, but it was instantly gone. 

She retold herself her dream, ending with her breaking her godmother’s crystal picture frame, but she could not remember anything beyond that. It was all too fuzzy.

A burning hatred for Luna continued from her dream and into the start of her day. Today was the first Roller Jam, and the perfect day to ruin Lunitta. 

It would be months of constant redreaming until she could remember it from finish to end. And yet somehow at that moment something had changed. 

.-.-.-.

Luna barely touched her at breakfast. She had had another dream where she played in the garden with a pair of faceless adults and a blond little girl, who laughed like sunshine. The little girl had hugged her and called her cousin, something that was odd since they looked nothing alike. And yet there was some familiarity in her smile. 

The faceless woman promised the little girl a necklace just like Luna’s, yet of a golden star. The girl had beamed, and together they continued playing princesses. This continued for a while until the faceless adults were joined by Sharon. Her usual cold face was replaced by a sullen look as she asked them to talk inside. Once the adults thought they were out of earshot they began to argue.

The arguing had startled both Luna and the little girl, and they stopped playing in the grass. They both ran inside, but when they entered the grown ups were gone. The house began to burn rapidly. Luna turned around to look for the little girl but she was gone. The house had turned into the roller rink and in the little girl's place was Ambar staring back at her with a burning hatred in her eyes.

Luna shook her head and dragged herself to the car. Ambar was already waiting for her. She was fidgeting with her phone distractedly and did not bother to acknowledge Luna’s presence. When Luna said good morning out of courtesy, Ambar gave her an effortless nod still not looking up from her device. Looking at her face Luna noticed that oddly enough Ambar had a similar sleepy look plastered across her face. 

“Weird dreams?” Luna asked without thinking. She did not expect any response from Ambar, in fact it might be best if they rode to school in silence. 

But instead Ambar gave her a look of fury and surprise, “not everyone is as distracted as you.” Plugging her headphones she raised the volume to full. “Mind your own business Valente.” 

.-.-.-.-.

Ambar’s classes passed like a breeze. She had gotten a 97 on her math test, and led a perfect debate in 4th period. The most interesting thing that happened was a series of interviews Delfi and Jazmin had made with the dance squad at school. It had ended with a fist fight and 5,000 views in a couple hours. 

She, Delfi and Jazmin now sat at the Roller drinking smoothies as they worked on school work. The dream from earlier would be almost gone, and it would have been fully gone if it wasn't for Luna. Her comment had stuck with her all morning, and there was something in her eyes that pulled her back to the thought of her dream. Why was that? Why had Luna known she had dreamed? 

The dream left her with an unfilled rage. It brought up all her negative feelings towards the girl and her family. Ambar was more than ready to ruin Luna’s life. If Ambar could not have the love Luna had, then she would make sure Luna felt Ambar’s loneliness. 

Luckily Ambar had a plan, and by the end of the week, Luna would be on her way back to Mexico. 

Jazmin leaned over Ambar’s shoulder to show her a video. “Did you know Matteo kissed Luna before summer break?”

Ambar took a deep breath and pushed down her raging emotions. She could not believe it. Matteo could not be more infuriating. 

“Are you two even still friends?” Jazmin whispered as if to avoid wandering ears.

Ambar pushed down the phone and pushed it across the table, everyone in the room, including Luna, was rewatching Matteo’s confession. 

“Jazmin stop showing me that!” Ambar growled. “And yes, I knew that Matteo had some kind of awful interest in Lunita, but I did not think he would go as far as to actually pursue her.” With a tired tone she continued,” And yes. Jazmin we are still friends. I hate Matteo’s guts, but I would not abandon a friend like him. He actually listens to me unlike you two.”

Jazmin let her face fall, “I was just trying to keep you updated. No need to be rude.” Grabbing her milkshake she walked off and sat down across the room with Jim and Yam.

“Ambar! You have to stop talking to us like that,” she was just trying to be nice.” Delfi grinded under her teeth. 

“Yeah?” Amber raised her eyebrows. “ Well I am not here to play nice, I am here to win, so you two better be ready to help me out with my plan, or,” she paused, and looked over her shoulder “you can go play with Lunita and her friends like Jazmin did.” Ámbar was sick of Jazmin and Delfi’s dull gossip. Every day now it got more Luna centered, as Luna’s popularity Ambar’s popularity dwindled. 

Delfi rose out of her chair and opened her mouth to speak-

“Hey Ambar can you give us a lift?” It was Matteo and Ramiro. Everyone in the cafeteria watched them closely, waiting for any odd moves. Luna was nowhere to be seen. “I need to get out of here now, and get some supplies for tonight for Pedro and Gaston had to pick up his brothers from school.” 

Matteo would never randomly do arends for some random employee. Ambar rose out of her seat and gave Delfi a cruel nod. “Of course, helping friends out is what friends are for, no matter the cost, aren't I right Delfi?”

Shocked, Delfi said nothing. 

Grabbing her stuff Ambar walked confidently out of the Jam and Roller. Gaston and Ramiro shrugged and then followed in silence. It wasn't until Ambar was driving that she broke the quiet.

“The hell Matteo? God what were you thinking when announcing that publicatly?”

Matteo rolled up the windows. He was trying to keep calm and keep a straight face but failed miserably, “I did not plan for any of that!” His voice rose quickly, “Gaston promised the camera wasn’t working!”

“Well it was dumb ass. And you kissed freaking Lunita? Like, I know you are stupid Matteo, but how was kissing Luna of all people, and then dumping her going to work out for you? Luna is a problem magnet, YOU are a problem magnet. She is the center of all the problems at this place! And then you did not even tell me? Me?”

Ramiro snickered in the back seat, and leaned back comfortably with his hands behind his head. “Not to burst your bubble, but you're his ex, why _would_ he tell you?”

Ambar looked at him dead in the eyes from the rear view mirror, “Because _Ramiro,_ then I would want to murder Matteo _less_.”

Ramiro smirked, “if you say so.” The boy never understood this strange friendship, especially because they always seemed an inch away from some fight or argument. He shrugged,“I still don’t get why Matteo tolerates you, we have been in school together for 3 years now and I don’t think I have ever seen you do anything for him.”

Ámbar wanted to slam the brakes, and get out of the car right there. She was the only one who supported Matteo. Maybe Gaston had too at some point, but it was mostly her. 

Matteo had always been a mess under the perfect cover of the preppy cool boy. His parents were often overbearing and he always lived with the fear of leaving everything he knew behind and moving for his father’s job. When he first arrived at South Blake College what had brought them together was how much they needed to look perfect and be perfect. It brought a complicated friendship but in the end a true one. Before Luna came, she was his number one confidant. If anyone had supported Matteo it was her. And no half ass, so and so, _new friend_ of Matteo was going to denounce that. 

“You little piece of-

“Oh shut up Ambar. Instead of lecturing him maybe give him a break?” 

“Stop fighting!” Matteo yelled. His voice was scratchy, like on the rare occasions when he was about to cry. “I broke up with Luna because I thought it would be easier than breaking up with her before college, but I was wrong. It’s been so much harder, especially with my dad on my back.” Matteo sighed, “It hasn't been a good year for me, okay?” He turned to look at Ambar, “Luna wasn't supposed to find out like this. I wasn't supposed to make it complicated or hurt her more, I just wanted her to be happy without me.”

Ambar scoffed, “Are you seriously this dumb? Is this a freaking joke? Matteo you dumped me, kissed Luna on international TV, then dated me again, then we broke up, and now you never told me that your and Luna dated, so let me give you a heads up. You are the king at hurting your girlfriends and making things complicated.”

Ramiro’s eyes widened as he looked towards the floor to avoid eye contact. He swallowed down a slight laugh and pretended to be on his phone. Matteo looked at Ambar stunned. 

Matteo looked down and fiddled with his fingers trying to find a way to apologize. She was right. In so many more ways than one. Swallowing hard he looked up. “I am sorry Ambar, and I know I have said this before, and I will continue trying to make up for it, but I never meant to hurt you. You never deserved me, you deserve so much better.” Matteo tried to catch her eyes, to sense some kind of emotion, anger, sadness, anything but it was met with silence. 

Nearing the store parking lot Ámbar sighed and turned to look at him. The eyes that met her were oddly the eyes of the confused new kid, masquerading in the body of a tall popular boy. There was way too much to unpack for a single conversation. He has lost his attention to her long before they broke up, and strung her along for longer than she wished to admit. There was so much that was wrong with their friendship. Starting and ending on now he left her for Luna, but somehow even after all this time she wanted to give it one more try. 

Any apology was a good apology between the two of them. She could not think of the last time she really apologized to anyone let alone Matteo. But maybe this was a start for both of them. A slight one. Or maybe this was just another one of the games they played, building each other up to abruptly tear each other down. The thought caused a shiver to run down her spine. 

One day she would make Matteo realize just how much he had hurt her. But today wasn’t their day.

“I did not do things well either,” Ambar confesses in an odd second of honesty , “but you did things 100% worse than I did though for sure.” 

Matteo gave her a bright smile of relief and nodded. “We’ll work on it okay?”

Ambar said nothing but gave a slight nod. 

Ramiro smiled awkwardly, “See if you can continue whatever this friendship is with Ambar, you definitely still have a chance to make things better with Luna. I mean _I_ think that you could just move on and get over her, but like Gaston said the option of making up is still there.”

Matteo looked at Ambar for support, Ambar would never give him, “don’t expect anything from me Matteo, you know what i'm capable of.”

Matteo sighed, “why are we still friends again?”

Ambar scoffed playfully, “because you need me. And at least you're annoying in a way not related to fashion.”

Ramiro burst out laughing. “Your friendship is really weird,” looking down at his phone he smiled. “And I can't believe I have all of that on video.”

The car stopped to full stop as they entered the store parking lot. Ramiro continued to laugh as he exited the car and walked towards the store.

“I am going to murder him,”Ambar said between her teeth. 

Matteo had a similar expression of disgust. “he better not post that, Vidia has already messed up enough things for both of us.”

Ambar parked near the front of the store. “I will end Santi Owen and Vidia, this camera situation can’t go on for much longer. It will end even if I have to rip out the cameras myself.”

Matteo nodded in agreement. Vidia had done nothing to improve the Jam and Roller, sure it had more likes and more followers but it had created a tension among them he could not stand. 

Matteo turned to Ambar, “ I am truly sorry. I meant what I said, you deserve better than me.”

Ambar frowned, “I know that.” She tried to smile, “But thanks, I guess you're not always a complete idiot.”

Matteo smiled back, some of his usual smirk revealing itself to Ambar for the first time in ages.

Matteo looked out the window,“ I really messed up.”

“Duh.”

“I always seem to fall back to being “ _selfish”_ and a “ _know it all”_ as Luna says. And I get why she thinks that.” He sighed. “But I can do better.” He gave Ambar a knowing smirk, “we all know I am better.”

Ambar shook her head and pushed his shoulder playfully, “you're a real idiot. But whatever your issue is it’s not one sided. I don’t see Lunitta trying to do anything to get you back.”

Matteo blinked back surprised.

“Your still an idiot. And Luna is not and has never been a good choice for you.”

Matteo fiddled with his fingers. “Can you try to get along with Luna? Just a little bit? For me?”

Ambar laughed,“No, absolutely not. In fact I will make her life more miserable.” Ambar could tell Matteo's eyes were distant, “but maybe you should focus on making up with her, before we get into all that.”

Uncomfortable, Ambar pushed her hair back,“what are you going to do about your dad?”

“I don’t know,” he shook her head. “But if I get this right, I’ll have you, Luna and my friends to help me figure this out.”

“You have friends?” Ambar teased. 

“Hey! Of course I do! I’m the king of the rink after all?”

Ambar roller her eyes. “You were only the king because you were my boyfriend. Now that you have downgraded… well you are definitely not the king.”

Ramiro quickly opened the side car door, “Let's get out of here.”

Instantly both Matteo and Ambar both lunged for his phone, but Ramiro pulled it away from their reach.

“Erase it,” Matteo demanded. 

“No.”

Ambar’s eyes widened, “You-

“I won't share it, skater’s honor,” Ramiro put his hand over his heart as proof.

“What kind of crappy excuse is a skater's honor?”

“A pretty good one, obviously.” 

Matteo lunged for the backseat, missing and rolling upside down in the back seat. “Ramiro!” Sitting up he lunged again, swiped the photo and deleted the video. 

Ramiro chuckled, “Sheesh Matteo, I was never going to show anyone.”

Ámbar locked eyes with Ramiro, “don’t do that again.” Ramiro laughed and swiped back his phone from Matteo's hand.

When they returned back to the Roller, Pedro did not even ask why they took so long, he just took the objects they bought out of their hands and shook his head.

.-.-.-.

Matteo looked for Luna when he returned to the Roller. A couple of hours earlier he had not wanted to find himself. But now that all the prying eyes were finally gone, he knew what he had to do. He would finally tell Luna the truth. 

But she was nowhere to be found. After avoiding videotaping and the topic of an interview for the Fab and Chic, Jazmin let him know that she and Nina had left the roller just 15 minutes before.

.-.-.-.

Preparing for the Roller Jam Ambar replayed her and Matteo’s conversation in her head on repeat.

_“You did not deserve me, you deserve better.”_

He was right. She had not deserved the break up. She had not deserved crying over him. She did not deserve any of this.

Jazmin and Delfi were at Delfi’s house getting ready. She was invited of course but Ambar did not feel like having to deal with the fallout of their earlier conversation. It wasn’t a big deal. But every day now it felt like they were father and father away. Plus if she were to go it would take away the effect of her threat and she needed them just in case things went south with her plan. 

She had finally finished her edited video, and had downloaded onto the drive. This would give Ambar her alibi. Tonight she would sabotage the cameras and blame it on Luna. 

Jazmin and Delfi would draw Luna out while Ambar would destroy the cameras and frame Luna. She even had managed to steal Luna’s necklace in the morning.

This would work out and when it did she could finally continue her life in peace.

Everyone was fine before Luna came, and they would be better after she left. Matteo would never know. And if he ever did find out...

She closed her eyes. He deserved it. 

And she did not deserve any of this. 

.-.-.-.

The Roller Jam was a huge success. The rink had filled up with so many people that they could not permit more people to enter. Luna and Nina danced in the corner, until Gaston arrived. Luna then politely left them and skated off with Jim and Yam. Her and Nina had been lucky to make it, they had complications arriving and getting their wardrobe. Now all she had to do was try to find a moment alone with Matteo.

Sadly Matteo seemed to be too busy with Ramiro and his new staking team. Fernanda and Ramiro seemed very close. She found it somewhat odd, but when Luna asked Yam about the topic, she said that Ramiro was totally into Fernanda, but seemed unbothered by the topic.

As the dance went on, Ramiro signalled the roller team to join them and start the flashmob. Soon everyone was dancing to vuelo and singing, and for a couple moments in the dance it seemed like her and Matteo had never broken up, and that everything was alright again. She missed him. 

These last couple of weeks had been torture. She saw him everywhere and yet there never seemed to be a time to talk, and when they did it ended in misunderstandings and arguments. What was Matteo hiding? 

Her heart had soared when she saw his livestream accidental confession earlier that day. How was it that something so small could make her feel hopeful? Why did it brighten her day and stir a hurricane of feelings when it was bound to fall apart. Did he actually mean it? Was he still in love with her?

She knew she was staring, Nina had already teased her about it and urged her to talk to Matteo. But how could she? How does one start that conversation? _Hey Matteo, I saw you confess that you still like me, is it true?_

But then at that moment Matteo looked back at her. A wave of nervousness went through her as he smiled. She cursed herself for feeling this way, for being stupidly in love with him still. She blushed. Putting her hands on her hips she shook her head and Matteo made a little bow. Luna beamed laughing, maybe she wasn’t dumb for still believing.

.-.-.-.

Ambar could not believe that Jazmin had the nerve to use the same costume as her. _At least it would make it easier to frame her if needed_ , she thought as a half joke. But that wasn't the issue at the moment, she had to shut down this party now, and Delfi and Jazmin refused to help. Ámbar took a deep breath. She would get Luna off of the rink and distract her just enough to frame her. 

Looking across the rink she could see how Matteo and Luna were silently communicating across the room. She had an idea. 

She grabbed her cup of water and leaned up over the powerbox just enough so that it almost tipped over. Ambar has overhead that just at that point was the most sensitive part of the power box, a couple days before when Santi Owen has scolded Nico for almost dropping his water on it. Just a bit of liquid would ruin the camera system for a couple of weeks. 

Dropping Luna’s necklace into the power box she smiled. The cup would fall, and when it did she would be far far away from here. There would be no proof of Ambar being the culprit, the locker room camera has already been sabotaged.

.-.-.-.

Luna watched Matteo from the other side of the room. He was smiling widely and asking her with his head to come over. He seemed nervous as he walked up to the small stage in the middle of the rink. He began to sing, it was beautiful. She hoped people couldn't notice how she blushed under the look of his beautiful golden brown eyes.

They felt like magnets. Luna could feel the pull of Matteo irresistible smile luring her in.

Nina taped her shoulder,“he wants you to go up there and sing with him.”

Luna widened her eyes in fear. She wasn’t afraid of singing with Matteo, in fact it made her heart leap, but she did not want to hurt again. What would she say after? What if she made things worse? “Are you sure? It’s not like we have been getting along, and even with the confession-

“Just go,” Nina lightly pushed her forward. Luna shyly walked towards the stage. Matteo helped her up as she began her part. He was beaming, and shaking slightly. Luna felt the world spinning just like the first time they sang together. She knew this was a dangerous route and yet it was only him she wanted. All of her worries melted away at the look of his confident smile. 

She and Matteo leaned in closer as they sang and without thinking they were soon inches away from each other. She could feel the soft puff of air that came out of his mouth as he sang. And before she knew it the song was over and she was looking into the depths of those beautiful eyes. Stepping forward she feel Matteo’s warmth as they both leaned in millimeters from each other’s lips. 

Luna and Matteo pulled away as the power went out. They had been so close it hurt. She could still feel the hot blush on her face. 

Matteo intertwined his fingers into hers as he leaned in towards her ear. “Don’t worry I got you.” 

Luna felt shivers crawl down her spine. She looked down at their hands, “Matteo what are you doing?” she whispered. 

The light in his eyes faded slightly, “what I should have done a long time ago.” Luna blushed red as she nodded speechless. Helping her step down from the stage they looked around for Nina and Gastón. 

Santi Owen called out a couple times, silencing the crowd. The party was cancelled due to the power outage. He looked like he would explode. Matteo and Luna stared at each other in a sort of trance, the party being over was the least of their worries. A wave of complaints rose around the room as everyone turned to leave. 

Gaston and Nina approached them. They were grinning stupidly at the sight of them holding hands. Luna blushed harder, and for the first time tonight she thought she could see Matteo turn pink. Gaston kindly asked Matteo if he needed a lift home. Nina on the other hand said nothing but instead stared down Luna with a knowing question in her eyes. 

The four of them exited the room together awkwardly. Everyone was looking at them as if expecting the next episode of the Luna and Matteo show.

“Luna,” it was Santi Owen. “Come help the guys clean up.” Luna turned to Matteo.

“Umm I should go help out,” she blinked. She did not want to leave Matteo now, she had so many things she needed to ask. And that magnetic pull still kept her eyes fixated on his smile.

Matteo looked disappointed but still motioned her to go, “we can talk later,” he promised.

Luna quickly said goodbye to the group and headed out to help out Pedro with organizing the rented stakes.

.-.-.-.

In 40 minutes everyone was out of the roller. Luna had helped put away stakes and decorations. Santi Owen and his staff had already left and only the Roller Band stayed behind locking up. 

Luna hugged Simon goodbye before leaving. 

“Tell Matteo I say hi,” Simon teased. Luna shook her head. 

“I am not sure what’s going on between us yet,” she confessed.

Simon smiled sadly, “well I’m here until you do, and if you need it I will make sure he never talks to you again.”

Luna shook her head, “thanks Simon but I am good, I’ll text you later.”

Now all she had to do was find where she put her school uniform. She walked around the building aimlessly trying to recall where it was. She finally remembered changing in the backstage bathroom. Walking to the back room Luna started to hear a faint screaming and banging from the backstage door.

The backstage was locked, probably from the guys locking up, but someone was evidently inside. 

It was Ambar, her face was as furious as ever. “Of course it’s you Valente! This is just my luck.”

“What are you doing in here?” Luna asked puzzled. 

“What are _you_ doing here?” she echoed.

“Well, I was looking for my school uniform so I could leave but-

“Forget your dumb uniform. One of your useless employee friends locked me in here thinking no one was inside!”

Ambar stormed out. Luna ran after her. The older girl ran to the main door and pulled at the entrance door. “They locked us inside. This is all your fault! ,” Ambar screamed. 

“How? Nico, Simon and Pedro were just here? And how is this my fault?” Luna recalled, her voice getting higher. “I did not lock us in there.”

Ambar continued to pull at the door. Luna watched uncomfortably, how had the night gotten to this point? A soft falling sound echoed from the rink, making a crashing sound.

Luna waited a few seconds before leaving Ambar “Let me know if you open that door, I am going to see what that sound was.” Ambar said nothing, and continued to call someone.

Luna entered the rink to find a small wooden piece from the ceiling scattered across the rink. Luna walked closer to examine. Looking up she could see that the ceiling had turned black. “Ambar! Come here!”

There was no sign of anything that provoked it, Luna had just been in this room 30 minutes before with Nico and nothing had happened since then.

Ambar was still no where to be seen. She was probably on the phone with Jazmin or Delfi, complaining about how they were locked in.

Luna began to hear a soft crackling above her. Her eyes widened as she slowly looked up. Luna felt her body freeze in terror as she watched the roof explode.


	2. Buring Light Years Away.

Sharon frowned distastefully at the man in front of her. “This better leave no trace. I don’t want to be connected to the  _ accident. _ ”

The man smiled, “Madame, no one will know what happened to her.”

.-.-.-.

Ambar couldn’t believe she was locked in with Luna. Her plan to frame Luna was slowly falling apart. First that idiot Pedro had locked her into the changing room, and now it would take someone from the roller band 30 minutes to arrive because they had gone out for dinner. At the moment she was on a call with Matteo. He was offering to have his chauffeur drive him over and drive Ambar and Luna home after one of the guys were able to open the rink.

“I’ll be there in 15 minutes," he promised. He sounded distracted. In the background you could hear the car rumble.

Ambar had a feeling this had more to do with Luna than it had to do with wanting to support her in her time of frustration. But at least it was an effort on his part. 

“Don’t bother, if you saw the group chat then you know Simon and Pedro will be here in half an hour. Plus you will see Luna tomorrow, you can talk to her then. ” She hated being second best in Matteo’s eyes, but it was nothing she had control over at this point. 

“Ambar, I’ll be there soon," Matteo repeated, "just sit tight, okay?"

Ambar sat down on one of the cafeteria chairs and shook her head. "Okay, see you then."

“Ambar come here!” Luna called out with a slight panic. Ambar was used to Luna yelling for no real reason, and did not pay attention to it. Luna's yelling drived her godmother crazy. She was always yelling in the kitchen, and sometimes the whole staff would join and create a whole racket. How was such a tiny person so loud? 

“Was that Luna?” Matteo asked, worry peeking out of his voice, “is everything okay? Is she okay?”

“She is fine, ugh, she probably found a new step for the choreography and wants to show it to me.”

“She doesn’t sound-

A loud sound boomed in the background, crashing with a terrible echo. 

Ambar never heard the end of the sentence, because even as the smoke started to pour into the cafeteria room, Ambar was already running towards the rink. 

.-.-.-.

Something unlocked within Luna as the roof exploded. As her body flew across the room, with the bundle of wooden shards and metal pieces, she was hit with a major deja vu. It was as if she had done this before, the explosion, the smoke, even calling out to Ambar. This moment of revelation was short lived. As she hit the floor Luna blacked out, it all faded away. 

.-.-.-.

Fire had always given Ambar a sense of urgency, it was a force of nature that she respected. It had taken away her family, and because of it she was always hypervigilant of flames and what they could do.

Her godmother hated fire. It reminded her of the Benson fire. Growing up they did not use their chimney or used scented candles, it made Sharon paranoid. Sharon did however always state that fire brought Ambar back to her. Whatever that meant. The thought of something so destructive protecting her always made her uneasy. 

Ambar tried to think straight, but there was something that kept pulling her back to her dream. Her dream of her chasing Luna across the Mansion and…. and…through fire, the Benson fire. The dream was foggy, as if every time she almost put the puzzle together, it would fall apart.

The rink was on fire. The walls and ceiling were covered in fire and the flames slowly crawled across the rink itself. Smoke filled the room and pulled at her lungs with force. It was like breathing toxic gas.

There was a moment of panic as she tried to differentiate reality to her odd sense of memory, and then there was a moment of reality as she remembered why she was there in the first place. Where was Luna? 

In that moment, every single dislike and complaint went out the window as she cautiously walked into the room and searched for Luna. Time slowed down as she walked, and for a second she was back in the mansion. Back in Sharon’s arms and back into her dream. Ambar shook her head and the feeling melted away.

Ambar continued down the rink, and for a second she could have sworn that there was a figure in the dark, staring right back at her. "Luna?"

Ambar screamed as a beam fell in front of her. When she looked up the figure was gone. "Luna this isn't funny!" She had to get out of there fast. But Luna was nowhere to be seen. Ambar knew she had to be hallucinating, her selfconscious and the smoke were getting the best of her. Where was Luna? 

Walking throughout the maze of debris and flames, Ambar swore she saw figures in the fire multiple times. One was taller and the other shorter and around Luna’s height. Each time Luna was always out of reach in a sleepy haze, as if sleepwalking in a living nightmare. Or as if running from one. But as soon as she appeared she was gone. It was a cursed game of hide in seek, and oddly enough it felt as if it had happened before. 

She had to be going crazy now. In her mind she was back in the mansion, and just like her dream, and everything was one fire. And everywhere she saw Luna, Luna playing hide and seek in the mansion, in the garden, by the pool. Smiling, and asking her if she wanted to play. 

Panic filled her as she made it to the edge of the fire. It was the end of the maze, she had checked everywhere and there was nowhere to go. If she was this affected by the smoke would she even be able to find the real Luna from the fake ones? What if Luna was gone? How could she explain that? How would she live with that? 

Touching her check she noticed she was crying. If she did not get out soon she would be trapped, but if she didn't stay, Luna had no chance of survival.

Fear ran through Ambar as she called out Luna’s name. Ambar hated Luna’s guts, but she never had wanted her gone, she never wanted her…. her….

Ambar felt a hole in her stomach grow with each passing second. She had to find Luna. Luna wasn’t that bad, she had always been reasonable with Ambar for the most part, she did not deserve…

Feeling dizzy, Ambar bent down and tried to focus on her breathing. They would make it out of here, they had to. 

“Luna! Luna! Luna this isn’t funny! Answer me please! Lunita!” Ambar sobbed as she tried to stand. But the smoke was getting too thick, and why was the sky spinning? It was so blurry. “Luna! Please! Sol! Answer me!” Ambar could have almost sworn that Luna answered her call right as Ambar’s eyes closed shut.

.-.-.-.

The first time Luna woke up the woman was standing over her. She looked just like a tall version of luna. She gave Luna a motherly smile, and offered Luna a hand to get up. Pulling Luna into a hug, she asked where Sharon was.

Luna frowned. “I don’t know. She should be at the mansion and not here. Las Senora sharon never comes to the rink, so she isn't here.” 

The woman gave her a worried look, “are you okay? But we are at home.”

“Home?” Luna echoed. And when she looked around she was back in the mansion. 

_ I have to find Ambar.  _

The woman bent down, and Luna could now tell that the woman wasn’t tall, Luna was short, and not the usual short that Luna was used to, Luna was now a child. “Go play hide and seek with your cousin okay? Go outside and play hide and seek, promise?” The kindness in her voice was obviously trying to cover the panic and worry hidden under it. 

Luna felt her lips continue with surprise, “I promise  _ mama _ , where are you going?”

The woman’s eyes hardened. “I just need to talk to your auntie okay? Go find your cousin and go play outside.”

A familiar male voice boomed from the back, “Lily! I found it.”

Luna’s dream changed and now she was looking for “her cousin”, the blond little girl of her dreams. And there she was. Luna almost woke up when she saw the face of the girl. It’s was Ambar Smith.

Ambar smiled.

“Mom said to play hide and seek outside.”

Ambar frowned. “But Bernie said I was playing hide and seek with Sharon?”

Luna seemed to think. “Really?! That sounds cool! Can I play?”

Ambar motioned for Luna to follow her, “of course, but it’s also a game of tag Bernie said. We have to run so she can’t catch us.”

“Cool!”

“I was thinking of hiding-

The dream changed again and now they were somewhere in the mansion Luna had never seen. They walked down the hallway to a small room full of documents. And there between it all was Sharon. 

Ambar grabbed her hand and giggled, “let’s go somewhere else Sharon is here.”

Luna nodded. 

“Ambar, Sol?” Sharon called out.

Luna and Ambar both ran in different directions.

The dream changed again and now the mansion was on fire. Luna was looking for Ambar. 

And then there she was, crying in Sharon’s arms. Sharon looked terrifying, the mascara dripped down her face. Young Luna did not blame Ambar for crying. Why was this game so intense?  _ Mom and Dad  _ were there too, yelling and screaming with Sharon.

The dream changed again and now everyone was gone. And yet why did she feel like she was still being chased? The feeling of eyes on her bleed through the dream. Luna tried to hide and sat in the corner of the mansion. The fire was crawling closer and she was all alone. 

.-.-.-.

When the dream started, Ambar knew something was wrong. She was a child again. Her pink dress and tinny silver shoes indicated so. She ran across the mansion looking for Sol. Hide and seek was their favorite game. Sometimes Sharon and Lily would join in and after they would have a pick nick in the garden. 

This time Lily and Sharon were nowhere to be seen. 

Sol’s favorite spot was near the swing in the garden. There was a spot next to the tree where she would hide if she really did not want to be found. But Ambar had already checked there, all the bathrooms and the bedrooms. Where was Sol?

Lily walked into the living room and smiled, “hello Estrella, are you looking for Sol?” Lily’s figure glitched and bubbled as the world started to far away. “She’s right in front of you love.” She started to fade into mist, “You're the key to the truth, find her.” Lily bent down and put something into Ambar’s hands, it was Sol’s necklace. “Find your star.” Something within Ambar stirred as she tried to remember where else she had seen the piece of jewelry. But then Lily was gone.

Turning around she saw the flickering back and forth image of Sharon and a middle age man jump out at her before waking. 

.-.-.-.

Ambar was suddenly back in the rink. Eyes open and trembling on the ground she looked around. She blinked trying to remember her dream in detail. If she did not retell herself the dream it would be gone in seconds. How odd? The fire bringing Lily back to her memory was cold irony. And yet now she remembered more of her dream from this morning. The fire was triggering memories she didn’t even know she had. Ámbar closed her eyes as she remembered the look in Lily’s face as the roof fell on top of her. Sharon was to blame for the fire, she always knew that. But just what extent? And that jump scare? Was her unconscious trying to warn Ambar about Sharon?  _ Now is not the time Ambar.  _

What was she looking for? She was looking for something. Opening her hand she found a moon necklace with a small sun pendant.

Remembering her dream a sudden dread filled her. “Sol”. She instinctively cried out. Ambar was ready to throw away the necklace that the strange apparition had given her. She was officially going crazy. As long as the Sharon-man figure did not come after her then things at least couldn’t get crazier. 

“ _ Ambar?”  _ Ambar jumped, now she was hearing things. Sol was calling her now. What if Sol and Lily were back to haunt her for burning the rink down?

_ “Sol?”  _ She repeated wearily. She was definitely going crazy. 

_ “Ambar!”  _ The voice repeated. And for a second it was Sol’s voice, the sweet little girl she once knew. And then like a train it hit her, that wasn’t Sol’s voice and she was not being haunted. 

“Luna?”

Ambar rushed through the fire calling out the name. But no one answered. 

Panicking she tried to think of what had made Luna answer. And with a sudden realization and a bitter taste in her mouth she called out a single syllable, “Sol?”

_ “Ambar?! Where is mom?” _

Ambar felt uncomfortable at Luna’s answer. “I don’t know where your mom is, keep calling out and I’ll find you.”

_ “No wait! Don’t talk she is going to find us?” _

“Who? What are you talking about Luna?”

Ambar pushed through the flames, and there she saw her. Luna was sitting with her arms hugging her legs tightly watching the fire grow around her. She looked dazed and half unconscious yet was still breathing. 

Ambar muttered a curse. Meeting her eyes, she could only see fear.  _ “Look out Ambar! Sharon is here! Run! Find mom and dad she found me.” _

_.-.-.-. _

Matteo was at the rink in half the time. His chauffeur was angry and cursing at him, but somehow they made it to the rink in 8 minutes.

Jumping out of the car he could already see the smoke coming out of the building. His chauffeur called after Matteo as he ran towards the building. 

The only entrance was from the front door. Lucky to him it was made out of glass and with several bloody punches he managed to make a big enough hole to get inside. The cafeteria was untouched, but the fire was slowly approaching from the hallway. He had to find the red lever to start the sprinklers, maybe that would save the cafeteria some time. But what if in that time the girls were hurt? 

Deciding that the girls were more important than saving the cafeteria he ran towards the rink. 

The room was fully on fire, it was hard to find small pathways without fire along the floor, the fire was spreading very quickly.

“Ambar! Luna!” he called out. A loud rumble called out from the roof above. The ceiling was about to fall in any second.

.-.-.-.

Ambar reached out to touch Luna. She was babbling now, screaming and crying but her eyes were not fully focused on her, instead they were looking into the flames again. 

Luna flinched and screamed when Ambar touched her shoulder. She seemed to wake up from a dream. 

“Ambar! We have to get out of here, Sharon isn’t okay. I can’t find mom-“ Luna’s eyes went wide as realization set in, she was no longer in her dream. Ambar was no longer the little girl. It was all a dream wasn't it? Luna shook her head. She was no longer dreaming, she was no longer Sol.  _ And yet she was Sol.  _ Her realization did not help the fact that the rink was still on fire. She was trembling, and sobbing. Without thinking she reached out and gave Ambar a hug. “We need to get out of here.”

Luna looked down at Ambars hand and grabbed her necklace, “you found it!” Luna felt a wave of fear, if she was right this necklace meant much more than she ever thought. And Ambar was the only and last person she wanted to discuss this with. “Thank you so much!” She said in a broken voice. “ I don’t know what I would do without it, it’s the last link to my past.”

Ambar watched terrified as Luna still held her in her arms. Ambar knew now. She knew why her godmother was so terrified of Luna, why Alfredo had a special interest in her. A mix of hatred and confusion boiled inside her. Should she keep it a secret? Were Sharon and Alfredo hiding it behind her back? Did Luna already know?

Ambar felt her body shake, whispering quietly she pulled away from Luna “Sol Benson.”

Luna coughed her eyes wide, “Ambar, when I was in the fire-

Matteo called out from near the entrance of the rink. “Ambar, Luna!”

“Over here!” Ambar coughed. With a bitter taste in her mouth she helped Luna up. “We need to get out of here.”

“But-”

“Now!” Ambar shushed her.

Luna opened her mouth to speak but then nodded.

Grabbing Luna’s hand she put all Luna’s weight over her shoulder and started walking towards the exit. Luna’s leg was bleeding and several long burns covered both girls but they somehow made it halfway across the rink and the debris, before Matteo caught up to them. 

His expression confirmed how bad they must have looked. He ran towards them and helped them get out of the burning rink.

"Hey did you see a figure in the-"

"Matteo its only us in here idiot, hurry up!" Ambar yelled.

Matteo pulled the red sprinkler lever for the cafeteria as they ran. Right as they entered the barely touched cafeteria and the roof fell down. They all screamed as they ran and pushed each other out of the hole Matteo had made in the glass door. 

.-.-.-.

Sitting on the curb of the burning jam and roller Matteo’s chauffeur was calling every possible contact and screaming at Matteo for his heroic attempt. 

Luna and Ambar both did not hear anything the old man said, instead they repeated their dreams again and again in their heads. It was as if they had been in a living nightmare 

Ambar was finally putting everything together, how Sharon had become so secretive and how Luna had changed every dynamic in the household. Something had happened in the Benson fire, and Sharon was somehow related to it all, and it had led to the deaths of her aunt and uncle. And somehow Luna was the key to it all. Luna was Sol Benson.  _ Life really must hate me. S _ he thought. The necklace basically proved it, and once she got home it would only take a couple of hours of research and looking for old photos in her home to confirm it. She looked at Luna, her frail body was still latched onto hers as they both tried to stay sitting upright. Luna was freaking Sol Benson, the cousin she always wanted, and who she had mourned. Crap. It felt so lonely to be so close to family and so far away. But if Luna ever found out it would change everything, and Ambar wasn’t ready for that. She did not know if she could ever be ready for that,so Ambar could never let Luna know the truth. At least not now. 

Once again Luna had won the game she never knew she was playing. Ambar sobbed quietly.  _ And to think I was so close to getting rid of you. Dam you Luna. _

Tears poured down Luna’s face. She continued to hold onto whoever had helped her out. She did not notice that Ambar was doing the same.

Luna cursed at herself. Now she knew who she was, and obviously Ambar did not want her to know. She was Sol Benson. She was not only Ambar’s cousin, but also one of the heiresses to Ambar’s fortune and title. Her parents were dead. Her parents were gone way before Luna even had a chance to search for them. And now….

Luna turned to Ambar, she was sobbing. Ambar knew. She must know. Luna sighed between shaky breaths. It wasn't fair to Ambar to change everything so fast. Ambar already hated Luna. And Luna did not need this new excuse for Ambar to hate her. So she would continue her search for the truth herself and make sure her guess was true. Luna would not tell Ambar she knows yet. Luna did not even want to believe it herself. 

She couldn’t tell anyone. If she wanted this to work she could not even tell Nina and Simon. She was once again alone with Ambar, with no way out. 

Luna reviewed what she knew. Sharon was not to be trusted. If her dreams were correct , Sharon had somehow been in that fire, so what happened? Sharon was a dangerous woman, and Luna bet that if it came to her fortune Sharon would be quick to manipulate Luna’s new situation. And for that reason Luna promised to keep an eye on Ambar. Something wasn’t right. 

But how could Luna even tell Ambar that? Luna closed her eyes and tried to stop her eyes from pouring, but the tears just kept falling. 

Luna turned away from Ambar and watched as he Matteo approached again.

“The police and firefighters will be here any minute, and they'll be able to give you medical help.”

Luna stared at his bloody and cut hands with worry, “and you too Matteo, those look bad.” 

Matteo sat down and wiggled himself between both girls and let them put their heads on his shoulders. He seemed exhausted. And his body was cold to the touch. Luna blinked. Was she leaning on Matteo?

“So what happened? I was on the phone one second and the next there was a loud explosion and Ambar was gone.”

Ambar stayed quiet. 

Luna tried to decide whether to move her head or not. “Well Matteo, after we got locked in I went to the rink and before I knew it the roof exploded, there must have been electrical mishap like the one from earlier tonight. And when I woke up the room was on fire, Ambar was there and you were calling us. That’s all I know.”

Matteo looked puzzled. “But Luna there is a 8 minute time gap between then, it took me while to get here. Dont tell me you were knocked out for that long?” Matteo’s eyes were filled with worry. Matteo was counting the minutes that passed by. Both girls were not looking well. And if Luna has a concussion she might need to be hospitalized. Matteo had already ripped part of his shirt and wrapped Luna’s bleeding leg. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“No, I'm fine, or at least I can wait until the ambulance comes. Ambar is the one with more burns anyways,” Luna shrugged.

Matteo winced, he hated seeing the girls like this. Tears swelled in his eyes. If only he would have stayed to help maybe thing would have gone different.

Luna continued “I don’t want to go to the hospital, I kinda just want to go home.”

Luna turned to Ambar, and with a bitter sadness, “nothing else happened on my end.”

Matteo sighed, “well the cameras are back online so tomorrow we can watch it we can figure out the details.”

Ambar’s eyes lit up as she tried to stand, “Crap! Was it live streamed?!”

“No, but there is a backup in the lockeroom. It should give us a good idea of what happened.”

Ambar jumped up, “I need to get back in there!” She started for the door.

“Why!?” Matteo and Luna both exclaimed, but she had already gotten back in through the hole in the door.

Luna ran after her. “Ambar!” 

Rushing into the wet but untouched cafeteria she followed Ambar towards the locker room. Most of the fire seemed to not be expanding thanks to the sprinklers.

Entering the room she saw Ambar messing with the cameras. Matteo entered after her. “What are you doing?”

Matteo could feel his anger coming back to him, “Ambar tell me you did not have anything to do with this?” Ambar had passed the line this time.

Ambar said nothing but continued to mess with the cameras.

Wide eyed, Luna felt herself start to cry again out of anger and frustration “Ambar no, you didn't. What did you do?”

“I did not do anything!” Ambar was crying again. “I just wanted the cameras off, this whole thing was an accident. Okay? I did not mean for all of this? I did not mean to almost kill you!!”

There was silence except for the soft approaching ambulance noises. 

Luna was furious. Ámbar had literally managed to destiny everyone. But even if Ambar had been trying to get rid of her since she got to Argentina Luna could not let Ambar go to jail. Not now when she was so close to the truth.

“Okay Ambar, we will help you out.”

Matteo looked at Luna in disbelief, “we will?” 

Luna nodded, “in exchange you have to stop trying to ruin my life. We are bonded now.”  _ In more ways than one. _

“Fine.” She scoffed. “Whatever, it’s not like I can now that you can blackmail me.”

Matteo cursed under his breath. He was going to kill both Luna and Ambar. Ambar for being a totally idiot and Luna for letting Ambar get away with it. But he stepped forward, “give me that and tell me what exactly happened here. I can't get the tape out unless I know.”

“First of all I need to make sure no one can hear this conversation, that no one can see me sabotage the powerbox and try to frame luna, and last of all I may have confessed while looking for Luna’s corpse in the fire so that also needs to be gone.”

“What the hell Ambar?” Luna whispered. Ambar flinched. Both Luna and Matteo looked at Ambar in pure disgust. 

“Okay so i am saving it onto my dive,” Matteo said as he worked on finding the footage. Ambar started to protest, “I want to know what you did if we are going down with you. It will be deleted here and for Vidia. And to make sure. I am going to destroy this thing right here, everything after the dance will be gone. And if I do it right I will look like part of the fire. “ Matteo picked up the small box and prepared himself to throw it onto the ground. 

“No wait.” Luna interrupted.“We are tied together now, we destroy it all together at once.” She looked up at Matteo. “If we go down, we are both getting busted, not just you.” Matteo nodded sadly. 

Together the three of them smashed the box into the ground. Matteo stepped on it and smashed it into a small fire just in case. With the explosion, there would not be much of a differnance.

Running out of the building they noticed the chauffeur had not even noticed they were gone. If they had done it right there would be no evidence of the night, except for the drive Matteo held in his hands. 

There was no turning back. 

Together they watched the paramedics and firefighters arrive. And the three began to dread the biggest question of the night. Luna looked at them with fear, “How do we explain this?”

Matteo ran his fingers through his hair, “ with the truth. You went to the rink, it exploded. Ambar was on the phone with me when I heard it all. Ambar went to save you, and I arrived minutes later. The truth. Exactly what happened without including the before and after. Deal.”

Luna and Ámbar looked at each other and nodded. 

To their surprise everyone bought the electrical explosion part of the night without any questions. Everything indicated what they had stated, and with the roller rink was being overrun with cameras and new tech, they did not find any issues with the story.

Luna thought Ambar would explode when they asked the three if they knew anything about the video feed. But in the end the police decided that when the cables in the rink and the locker room exploded, the cameras were very likely to explode. And that it was a miracle the locker room itself wasn't on fire. 

They treated everyone’s cuts and burns, none were bad enough to go to the hospital, but they would be in a lot of pain for the next couple of days. They had to take out glass shards out of Matteo’s hands, and some shards in everyone’s legs and arms from going through the shattered glass door. 

In minutes Sharon and Luna’s parents arrived. Sharon was more worried with suing the jam and roller than Ambar being hurt. But she did make a huge scandal when seeing Ambar’s burns. Sharon looked like she was going insane and with every second she became closer to what luna had seen in her dreams. She was yelling at everyone. She even managed to yell at the police, “It’s not my fault!” 

The police managed to calm her down. Matteo gave Luna a look of confusion. Sharon was going crazy. 

Luna watched Ambar, she also seemed affected, as of seeing her godmother in a terrifying new light. They once caught eyes, and Luna mouthed “be safe.” Ámbar just turned away.

Luna’s parents would not stop fussing around her, Matteo and Ambar. They were all sitting near the ambulances getting bandages and creams for the burns. To Ambar and Matteo’s surprise, Monica and Miguel were drilling the medics with questions on their individual health's and what needed to be done. Luna’s leg wasn't broken but she would not be able to skate for at least a week. And all three of them should rest due to the number of cuts, scrapes and burns on their bodies. Ambar had the most severe burn on her stomach out of the three of them. And Matteo could not write or use his hands for at least a week. Together Monica and Miguel volunteered to keep track of their health, and Sharon agreed after yelling at them for caring too much about her goddaughters health. 

Matteo’s parents were on a business trip and no one wanted him to go home alone after this so his parents agreed ot have him sleep over in one of the guest rooms. 

The three of them did not get to talk to each other throughout the whole thing. 

Luna lost count of the times she had cried that night, but they were finally going home. Ambar drove back with Rey, Alfredo (who was forced to stay in the car whole time) and Sharon. And Matteo to Luna’s surprise drove home with Luna’s parents. Apparently Ambar had some family business. Luna feared for Ambar having to deal with Sharon, Tino, and Rey in the same car. 

Luna and Matteo were the first to enter the car. It was thier first time alone since just hours before. But at this point it did nto seem to matter. What did petty fights and brake ups matter after tonight?

Matteo motioned for Luna to give her a hug, and without thinking she did. How strange? Being in matteo’s arms after a night like this. “Luna are you okay?” Luna shook her head. 

Looking up she remembered the last time they were so close. Just hours ago they had almost kissed, an now he was oh so close. Even with the bandages on his face and the bloody cuts, he still looked as handsome. Leaning in she looked into his eyes, “no, but I will be.” Luna leaned in to finish what they started.

“Luna?” Miguel asked as he opened the door to the driver's seat. Luna and Matteo jumped away from each other and Luna quickly buckled her seat belt.

“Umm Yes dad?”

Monica opened her door and looked back. “Missy don't think we did not see that.” She looked Matteo up and down confused. “Aren't you Ambar’s boyfriend?”

Matteo’s face filled with dread, “No ma’m, Ambar and I broke up over a year ago. Were just friends now.”

Luna blushed as she tried to avoid eye contact. They were definitely not dating, but today they were just so close to fixing things...

Miguel sat down and turned on the car. Looking at Matteo through the mirror he asked accusingly, “and so are you and Luna just friends or are you more than that, or?, because from where i am standing-

“No! I mean,” Luna interrupted. “Dad, Matteo and I are just friends,” her dad looked at her disbelievingly, Luna swallowed, “but lately, just lately we have been getting closer.”

“So are you two dating?” Monica repeated. 

Matteo tried to keep a straight face, as he gave Luna a knowing smirk. 

“No, Mom.”

“But Luna, when we talked in, you two were  _ very comfortable  _ with each other. Are you sure?” 

Matteo gave Luna a knowing look.  _ Are you sure?  _ He mouthed. 

Her eyes widened, 

“I mean if La Chica Delivery wanted to date , then I would agree. I would be more than happy to date her,” Matteo added in. 

Luna wanted to die, “What Matteo means is,” she turned to him and mouthed  _ what are you doing? _

_ He asked if we were dating? _

_ But were not dating! _

_ We could be. _

_ And who’s fault is it that were not! _

_ Yours Chica Delivery. Im asking you out right now in front of your parents and everything. _

Matteo swallowed hard before continuing. “Mr. Valente, what I mean is before I officially take your daughter out on a date I wanted to ask for your blessing. I had plans to come over to your place today and ask but then the rink exploded.... and instead I had to try and come save her.”

Matteo sneaked in a naughty look to Luna before returning his gaze to Miguel in the mirror.  _ See? Now if you say no its your fault Chica delivery. _

“Well Luna is still young”

“Dad im 17,”

“Oh Miguel, he asked, thats more than what most kids do nowadays.” Monica laughed. “Welcome to the family Matteo, you will have to come for dinner often.”

Miguel made a face, “thanks for asking Matteo, you have our blessing. But don’t think I won’t be watching you. 

Matteo beamed. He turned to Luna with that cute face he made when he was excited.  _ Told you. _

“So Luna, now that your parents have accepted, would you be my girlfriend.”

Luna made a face and mouthed

_ Matteo we still have unfinished business here! _

_ So is that a no? _

_ No. I mean yes.  _

Matteo raised his eyebrows.

“Yes, Chico Fresa.” Luna somehow managed to utter. “How could I say no to you” she muttered in her breath. Matteo looked pleased with himself, he beamed at her with heart eyes as he took her hand.

.-.-.-.

If Ambar had not felt unsure of Sharon, she did now. Her godmother was losing it, and it did not help Ambar at all. In trying to keep calm. Sharon has screamed at everyone at the scene and made such a scandal she was afraid it would be on the news the next morning. Who was she kidding? Sharon would pay the police to keep it quiet. Who knew what Sharon even did for a living but Ambar was not ready to find out. 

“Ambar what happened here? Don't tell me all of this is your fault.” Sharon growled. 

“Madrina, I did nothing, if anything I am the victim here.” Ambar yelled back in the car. 

“You better be, Fire in our family has a bad name, and I don't want you to ruin your reputation, and my reputation for that matter.” Sharon looked at herself in the car mirror and scowled at her haunting reflection. “Now tell me how is Matteo and that Luna girl.”

Of course she is going to focus on everyone but her. Ambar rolled her eyes,” they are fine, a bit startled that's all.”

“And Luna?”

Ambar wanted to scream, she now knew where this was going. She now knew why there was so much interest in Luna, and she hated it. “Like I said, startled.” 

“Oh Ambar, I can't believe you and Luna had to go through fire like that, it reminds me so much of how lily died. I can only imagine how you felt. You probably don't remember it now but you were in the fire-

“Be quiet father, Ambar doesn't want to be reminded of lily and Bernie’s deaths and neither do I. We lost three family members that day, isn't that enough! Leave the past in the past.”

The car went silent. 

When they arrived and Alfredo left the car Sharon turned back to Ambar, “I want you to keep an eye on the Valentes, I have a feeling they have something to do with you being in that fire. I don't want to see you hurt. Watch Luna, she isn't what she seems.”

Ambar wanted to laugh. Should she just tell her godmother that she already knew the truth about Luna?  _ No. Let’s make sure first. We can decide later.  _ She thought.

“What do you mean? Sharon do you know something?,” Ambar asked casually. 

“No, but I do not trust them, and you should not either.”

“Then why don't you fire them?” It was a valid question. 

“Because, Ambar, you have to keep your enemies close. Remember that.”

Staring at sharon. Ambar knew what she had to do. Something wasn’t right with Sharon. And what had Luna said? That Sharon was going to get them?

“Of course Madrina, I will help you with anything you need.”

“Good. 

Ambar would play Sharon’s game, find out the truth about Luna and then find a way to protect herself from whatever was coming. At this point she had no idea who to believe. And she could only trust in herself to keep Luna from finding the truth. Or finding the truth about their past. 

.-.-.-.

Sharon cursed under her breath. “I hired you to get rid of Luna! Not put my niece in danger! Now I can’t use you anymore, it's too suspicious.”

The man said nothing. He had already told the woman how he had trapped Luna in the jam and roller, but her stubborn spoiled niece had managed to get in the way. He had tried to push Luna into the flames himself but the little girl managed to sleepwalk around the room and avoid him. And right when he was about to...  _ Someone  _ got in the way. 

Leave me, “I’ll contact you if I need anything else.” 

The man left. Not caring about the outcome of the night whatsoever. He would not be caught. The children had taken care of that for him. But Sharon did not need to know that, nor did she need to know how Ambar would blame herself. It would become useful to him later on in the game.


	3. Stars like Neptune and Jupiter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks have past after the Jam and Roller Fire, things continue to not be what they seem. Luna, Ambar and Matteo are now bonded by their lies, and by the lies they continue to uncover. A chapter in which people get locked in closets, and secrets are uncovered, and a date is finally archived.

When Luna woke up the next morning she could already feel Sharon’s hateful eyes burning into her skin. Within the mansion every breath she took was monitored by either Rey or Ms. Benson herself. For the first time she noticed how much they pried into her family’s business and even into her private life. She hated it, and wondered if this was what Ambar felt every day of her life. 

Feeling watched amplified her worries both in regards to the burning of the rink, and the consequences that came from knowing the truth. She was Sol Benson. 

Luna’s conscience had always been straight with her, she felt guilty when she did bad things and overall she had never done anything big enough to make her guilt weigh as much as it did now. Even with the endless hours she obsessively put into trying to put the pieces together, it did nothing to comfort her. Luna was paranoid. 

She knew they must be able to see right through her and see the truth. She was an imposter both at the rink and within the mansion. She was hiding behind curtains destined to burn and flicker. 

_ You broke it, you fix it.  _ Matteo had told Ambar and sure enough she was at least trying. Together with the rest of the team they had made several online fundraisers and managed to pay for the roof to be fixed. The last open music would raise money to buy some last minute materials to fix the rink itself. Soon all the material things would be fixed. So why did she feel so empty?

She stopped talking to Simon and Nina as much, pretending it was because she was dating Matteo. Luna missed them, but if she stayed with them more often the truth would slip out, and she couldn't afford that.

Matteo was less jumpy, but worried nevertheless. He dove into the work like she did, but also was better at remembering to take brakes and pull her away from the mess of it all and breathe. He was more angry with Ambar and Luna than anything else. Luna knew he would never say it out loud but Matteo was surprised that Luna had been the one to protect Ambar and drag them into this mess. The drive he saved the camera tapes on wasn’t functioning yet, it must have been damaged at some point. According to Ambar he had a week before she stole it and burned it in a fire. 

And maybe that scared Matteo, he already had one close friend always on the verge of jumping off the rails. But his anger was short lived and after a week and a half the tension between them had died and they could continue to try to fix their new relationship in peace. Or as much peace as possible. 

The guilt of holding back the truth about Luna's past from Matteo the other hand never faded. 

To the public Ambar acted as if nothing had happened. She retold the story again and again, always keeping it consistent. No one doubted her. The inspectors claimed that the fire had been started at the same time Ambar had started to call Matteo. That gave them enough alibi. 

It spooked Luna that the police were so sure the fire started during the phone call, but between everything it was the least of her worries. Ambar kept her word, and somehow she and the whole roller team got along just enough to almost be done fixing the rink. 

Nina had even asked Luna if the reason she and Ambar had “met eye to eye” was due to the fire. This was mostly because there had been no big arguments or passive aggressive comments between the two of them since the “accident”. Luna mostly stayed silent but told her the honest truth. “Maybe we are starting to see a bit more eye to eye, but to really get along is going to take decades.”

At home though, Ambar was the same. They argued in the kitchen, the garden, basically anywhere out of earshot of anyone else in the mansion. They argued with Matteo, without Matteo even because of Matteo. And it was driving Matteo insane. 

Luna never knew someone could get under her skin that much. How dare Ambar get upset with Luna about anything when they were keeping Ambars secret? When Luna wasn’t exposing the truth about Sol?  _ Not that Ambar knew she knew.  _ Luna just wanted some peace and quiet from the monsters in her head. 

She stopped her search for her parents for a solid week before Nina found the jewelry store her necklace came from. It took her another week to accept a possible visit, but looking into what she knew would lead to the Bensosn made her widely uneasy. Sharon was already onto her. It was a bad idea. But she needed to know for sure sure. And she needed more proof than some articles on the fire without pictures. 

Luna had played dumb for 2 weeks now, so as far as she knew everything was “okay” between her and Ambar. “ _ Okay between them”  _ what did that even mean anymore?

Luna sat at the Roller, sipping her usual strawberry smoothie. Most people had gone out to skate and only she and Nina sat there in silence. Nina did her work, and Luna just continued to think. It’s all she ever did now.

Luna jumped as a pair of arms wrapped around behind her. A familiar voice whispered into her ear, “your jumpy today,” Matteo teased. Luna turned her head and frowned knowingly. He looked at her apologetically. She halfway smiled and meet his lips with a soft kiss. 

Nina laughed, “today? It seems like every day lately.”

Matteo sat down beside her, taking her hand and kindly rubbing his thumb against the palm of her hand. “What are you two up to?”

“I was doing homework, but I think I’m going to go fine Gaston,” she winked. Nina left without another word. Luna almost wished she had stayed.

Staring back at Matteo she could see some of the worry and stress she saw every time she looked in the mirror. She leaned her head against his shoulder and tried to breathe. 

“Your trembling,” he noted surprised. 

“I had another nightmare, the same one always” she said shortly. 

At first Luna had tried to hide the nightmares. It was always almost the exact nightmare she saw in the fire. It was her at the old Benson mansion with Sharon chasing her. Sometimes Sharon would be replaced by a middle aged man. Other times Ambar ran with her. But what was always the same and different to the fire apparition is that her “mother” would tell them to find the key. And her “father” would tell Luna to find the box. The box was always either under the floorboards in a hidden room full of documents or under the floorboards to the kitchen. 

Luna told Matteo a half truth. She replaced Sharon and Ambar with faceless figures but kept the mansion part of the story the same. 

At first Matteo had taken this as a normal nightmare that stemmed from the night of the fire and Luna’s faint desire to know her birth parents. But lately he started to consider there might be more to it. He did not say so, instead he just nodded worried. 

Matteo pulled her into his arms and she wrapped herself around him. He loved playing with her hair and tangling it within his finger. He loved the rush he felt when she touched him, and even with the nightmarish last two weeks he was comforted by the sound of her voice. Matteo could feel Luna shivering. It hurt to see her usual spark had been gone. 

He paused, “what if we go out tonight?” 

Luna pulled her head from within his hug, “where?”

“A new place downtown. Pizza, it won’t be as good as mine but it will keep our minds off of fundraising and will give us a chance to relax.”

Luna buried her head into his chest and took a deep breath. The smell of his colons filled her nostrils and she imagined them going on their first official date. She smiled, “let’s do it.” 

.-.-.-.-.

Ambar smiled as she memorized the code that clicked and scraped as the lock slowly opened. Hiding behind a door leading to the dinning hall she remembered to take soft slow breaths. Her heart pounded rapidly as she forced herself to listen. 

“Here Rey, make sure to pay our little pest and get him off my freaking back. I can’t believe they got the upper hand this time.” Rey nodded as he tucked away the money into the side of his jacket. The pair continued up the stairs and towards Sharon’s room. Ambar cursed under her breath and walked quietly below the stairs. “And please, get that necklace soon, or I will.” 

Rey agreed and began to climb back down the stairs to deliver his orders. Ambar could feel panic surge within her as she ran towards the kitchen and hid behind the chef’s table. When Rey was gone she sighed, straightened up her outfit and began back to the living room. 

Her godmother would be in her room for the next hours, doing business work and Rey would be out of the house. This was her chance. 

Running over to the picture frame she began the pattern, it clicked easily under her finger tips and soon it sprang open. 

There was money of course. A lot of it. But Ambar could care less about the wealth. On the side of it all was a large folder with documents. Ambar hurried and began to take photos of all the documents, not checking their containment’s and just making sure the words could be read from her screen. She forced herself to remember to only stop if she saw Luna’s name.  _ Crap and Sol’s of course.  _ After 20 or so pictures the folder was empty. She groaned in frustration and looked again in the vault. Putting her head into the metal box she found a bag tapped to the top of the box and there it was. 

_ Luna Valente.  _

Ambar felt her hands shake as she opened the document and took photos. She dug her nails into her sides to keep herself from screaming as she tucked them back in and pasted them like she found them. Right as she was about to close the door she saw a new batch of small envelopes fall onto the floor. They must have been taped to the top behind the Valente document. 

_ For and Ambar Smith, from mother _

Ambar froze. Time went still as she tried to understand what this meant. Her birth mom? This could not be happening now. 

Ambar did not hear the loud footsteps of her godmother as she started talking towards the stairs, nor did she notice how Luna rushed in, closed the vault and began to drag her away. Or how they almost fell, mostly due to Ambar not reacting and Luna being clumsy as heck. Or how Luna cursed like a sailor as she slammed Ambar into a closet. 

Ambar did not feel herself start to silently sob, nor did she hear how close Sharon was to open the door or how Luna had wrapped her arms around her as if those tiny arms of hers could protect Ambar from the shock of Sharon hiding a connection to her bio mom. She felt nothing.

.-.-.-.

Luna tried to breathe as she tried to think out her next moves. If they were found in this closet there would be no connection between them and the vault,  _ except the letters.  _

Luna reached along the floor and counted them as she tucked the letters envelopes into her large pockets.one, two, three, eight, but where was the 9th one?

Luna held her breath as she heard Sharon’s footsteps walk closer. She could see the light disappear from under the door as Sharon’s hand began to turn the metal knob.

“Excuse me Ms. Sharon,” Luna let out a sigh of relief as Amanda called out. “Your tea is set up in the living room table as ordered”. 

Luna cursed herself.

Ambar was stirring again, long stains of mascara ran down her cheeks as she avoided Luna’s gaze. She took a deep breath, nodded and stopped crying. This startled Luna. It was as if Ambar had just decided to stop crying and she did. 

“Actually Amanda, can you set it up in the garden.”

“Yes, Ma’m.”

“Oh! Miguel can you out those boxes here in the living room. I want to sort them out with my father later tonight.”

Luna could hear her father walk closer. Two pairs of feet followed behind him. They must have been Tino and Cato. The boxes landed right in front of the door, blocking out all light. 

Luna and Ambar looked at each other, “oh crap.”

Ámbar covered Luna’s mouth as the word came out. 

“Miguel did you say something?” Sharon said flatly.

“No Ma’am, is there anything else you need?”

“Tell Monica to bring me something to eat out in the garden for myself and my guest later today. And remember the staff are off for the rest of the day. I have an important private business meeting.”

“Of course Ms. Sharon, she will have it ready right away.” 

When the crowd disappeared Luna tried to open the door but it would not budge. Ambar rolled her eyes and stood up to bust the door open. The door did not move. 

Now they were booth pushing and the door still would not budge. 

“Crap.” Ambar muttered. 

“Let’s call my parents to get us out.” 

“Don’t do that!” Ambar muttered. Her eyes were still wet but the force in her voice sounded serious.

“Why Not? We can say you did not want to get in trouble with Sharon since we are both not supposed to be home.” Luna dug into her pockets but her phone was nowhere to be found. “Well I can’t find my phone, it must be up stairs. Can I use yours?”

Ámbar looked at Luna dumbfounded. “Fine.”

Ambar grabbed her phone out of her pocket and opened up the call app. Passing it to Luna she felt a hint of anxiety as she remembered that the proof to Luna’s birthright was photographed on the same device. 

Luna dialed the number. Her face fell as Ambar’s battery died and they were both left stuck in the closet. Luna passed back the phone and continued to push the door, “it’s dead. Help me out.”

Ámbar shook her head in desperation and then began to push. Watching Luna she could see how her necklace swang back and forth against her neck. 

“What are you looking at?” Luna asked curious. Ambar looked intimidating in this small dark space. She was a head taller than Luna’s tiny body. Luna had never felt so small.

“Nothing,” Ambar said flatly. Luna let her arms fall as she looked around. Feeling weak from pushing without luck, Ambar joined Luna. 

“What is in this closet?”

“I'm not sure.” Ambar said as she opened a small box, “I think I might have some of my old things in here from when I hid them from Sharon.” She added sharply. 

“Hid them?” Luna echoed.

Ámbar brushed her hair behind her ear and opened another box. “Yeah, not everyone has loving parents like your  _ Lunita _ , my caretaker liked to throw things away the second she deemed I was too old for them.”

Luna shrunk uncomfortably, “I’m sorry. I’ve always noticed that Sharon is hard on you but throwing away your stuff sounds especially rough.”

Ámbar could feel the bitter taste in her mouth strengthen as she grinded her teeth to not strangle Luna. “It’s fine. I have everything else I could ever want.” Ambar pulled away from her box and stared Luna in the face, “let’s cut to the chase Valente what do you want?”

Luna took a step back, surprised , “what do you mean?” She could feel Ambar tense.

Ámbar took another step closer. “Let’s state things as they are. You and I have  _ hated _ each other since day one and we have been clashing ever sense.” Ambar locked her eyes onto her necklace and smiled with pure hatred, “and now only have you not turned me in to the police for burning down a building, but you helped me get away with it.” She stepped closer this time placing her palm on the wall next to Luna’s face and leading forward. “I ask again, what the hell are you doing Valente.”

“I am not, I, I, Ambar look I,” Luna swallowed. Her face reddened with anger. “You know what Ambar! I did you a favor and of course this is how you treat me!” Luna leaned forward and pushed Ambar off her. “Ámbar you never look beyond your personal gain and distrust.” Ambar stepped back as Luna stepped forward. “And guess what? Im tired of it. I’m not letting you treat me like this anymore. You can hate me, but I won’t let you keep messing up my life.”

Ambar blinked rapidly starting to talk, but Luna moved closer. Luna dug into her pockets and pulled out the letters and pushed them to her chest, “here. We are even and you know it.” Luna fidgeted with her necklace, “in fact, we are more than even. You at least owe me just some basic mutual space and respect.”

Ambar grabbed the letters and stuffed them into her jacket pockets. She stepped closer so they both stood in the center of the closet staring at each other right in the eye. 

“So you think you have the guts to threaten me?” She scoffed and smiled, “Darlin if I go down you go down. Not only that but it will ruin the life of your dear Matteo.” Luna flinched. Ambar smiled,she dreamed of this moment, a moment where she could break down Luna. “ You see Lunitta, right now you have everything, you're in charge of the rink, you're popular at school and online, you have friends,” she paused as she whispered into Luna’s ear, “your parents trust you, you go to a fancy school, you have  _ everything.  _ And if you do anything to ruin me all that is gone, the fact you helped me comes out and it’s all gone. And then you have nothing.”

Ambar pulled away and looked at her nails, “you see right now I have close to nothing. I have no friends, you stole my boyfriend and my place at the rink, you have taken my grandfather's attention, and all I hold onto is my small dream of leaving this crappy city and studying in Europe. But even if I lose that, it can’t be that bad because I have money, and you on the other hand are nothing but an employee's daughter living wholly dependent on  _ my  _ family. So I recommend you shut up, and remember your place.”

Luna growled under her breath with a burning hatred she did not even know was possible. She could feel tears swelling, she touched her necklace and forced herself to say nothing. She would lose her only good card if she revealed what she knew now. 

“Screw you Ambar.”

Ambar did not skip a beat, “you wish you could Lunita.” She laughed, “just remember on your morality scale I may owe you, but in my book you're just a paperweight holding one back one of my many faults. I still make it out of this scenario you don’t.”

Luna turned away, blushing with anger. She needed to get out of here now.

Sitting down she leaned against the wall and tried to look for her phone again. She hated feeling so hopeless. It was too dark to see the whole floor, maybe she dropped it. Running her hands along the floor or she found the missing letter.

_ For Ambar. _

Ambar bent down and snatched it. “Watch it.”

Ambar sat down and pulled out her letters. They were all opened, the papers were all left in their envelopes. It was almost too easy. 

Luna watched Ambar silently, “have you ever seen them before?”

Ambar gave her a glare. And said nothing. Opening the first one, tears slid down her face. Pushing the letter to Luna she gave her a threatening look. “We’re already destined to be screwed up together, read it.”

Luna looked at her in shock. She blinked rapidly and then trying to bury down the anger swelling in her chest she began to read.

_ Dear Ambar, _

_ I hope this letter finds you well. It will be hard to get this letter to you with Sharon watching. When I gave you up it was a closed adoption, I knew your family personally but I was to never see you again. My family thought it was for the best and at that time I agreed. I found you again in the article about the Benson fire. _

Luna’s voice cracked.

_ Since then I have been keeping up with you from afar. I see your skating competitions and read any articles converting the Benson Company. I write to you not to disturb your life but to warn you something is going on with the Benson Company, and if you're not a part of it the least I can do is warn you. Look at this list of previous share members, a number of them have fled the country, but what finally forced me to write this letter is that Mauricio Kiola was found dead a couple weeks after a meeting with your Adopted Mother. The old company is almost in Sharon’s hands and I fear for you.  _

Luna’s hands were shaking now.

_ I have notes on what I can only say are theories, but I worry about you. I will continue to try to send these letters. But I must leave the country. I fear I know too much.  _

_ If you want to contact me find- _

Ambar ripped the paper out of Luna’s hands and stuffed it into her pocket. “That’s enough.”

They both sat there in silence as they tried to recover their breaths. Ambar opened another. “It’s the same letter.” Every envelope had the exact same message. After what could have been minutes or hours Ambar finally spoke. 

“Don’t you dare tell anyone. I will end you.”

Luna nodded, “ Ambar I would never do that to you.” She though for a second, “What about Matt-

“Especially not him, he will only worry.”

Ambar stood up and began to push again against the door. “We need to put the letters back.”

“But don’t you want to know what they say?”

“Not more than my aunt not finding out!” She whispered.

Luna nodded slowly, “okay so we take a picture of the document and leave it as we found-“

“My phone is dead!!”

“That isn’t my fault I’m trying to help you like every single freaking other moment of my life! Why can’t you accept that people can just be nice! I want to care about your well-being Ambar. Crap! I have tried to support you even when you almost killed me.” Ambars eyes softened as Luna could almost see a hint of guilt, but just as quickly they went dark. “Whatever, why do I even try,” Luna sighed.

“You can’t physically care about my well being.”

“Yeah I can,” Luna almost screams. 

“Really? Even after all of today? Even after the fire? Even after these past weeks? Heck! These last two years?” Ambar is crying again. They both are.

“Yes Ambar,” Luna repeats frustrated now. 

“You don’t have to feel bad for me because Matteo-

“THIs IsNT ABOUt MATtEo!” Luna half yells. “Ambar I’ve lived with you for a year and a half now! I see you every day, we share friends, school, everything! Heck Ambar if it wasn’t for the fact we freaking hate each other I would say that in some ways your inspiring. But every time I feel like we take one step forward you do something like freaking burning down a building! You and I both know the only reason we don’t get along is because of YOU.” Ambar looks stunned. “I’ve done my part. Heck much more! So freaking let me help you put those letters back and stop being such a bitch.”

Her words hit her life a brick. What Luna said could not be true, why would it? How could it after everything. And yet even though Ambar was sure Luna might freaking break someone in half if she could, Luna was looking at her tired and determined to get them out. Ambar stared at her in awe. Tired and confused, Ambar began to look through the boxes until she took out a small DS. “Here give me that letter,” she whispered. “Maybe we can have a truce for now.” She crawled to the ground to get the most of the sliver of light below.

“We are already in a truce, aren’t we?” She said flatly. Luna looked over Ambars shoulder “You have a DS?” Luna asked, a bit of amusement in her voice.

“You don’t?” Ambar said flatly. For trying to get them to get along Luna wasn’t doing a good job. “Oh wait I forget your poor and probably could not afford it.” Ambar snapped. “Most importantly Matteo has one and he still travels around with it. Luna smiled. 

Ambar texted Matteo on the small screen and told him to get them out of the closet.

“You think that will work?”

It’s a small miracle when Matteo answers.

“If he asks we were avoiding being caught in this closet it’s because you were in the living room,” Ambar demands.

“Matteo isn’t that dumb.”

“He is if we say we were arguing over that night.”

Both of them became quiet at the sound of a faint knock on the front door.

Sharon’s shoes echoed as she opened the door and welcomed someone in. It sounded like a man. 

Luna and Ambar went cold when they heard the voice. It was the voice in the fire. “Hello Sharon. I see you're doing well. It’s been a while.” 

“Just get in. We don’t have time for formalities.”

The footsteps faded away.

“Do you know that voice?,” Luna choked out. “In the fire I heard that voice, in my dilution.”

The girls jumped again as they heard the sound of another door opening. 

“Ambar! Where are you?” Matteo whispered. Both girls have a sigh of relief. 

“Over here!” Ambar called back. 

They could hear Matteo move box after box until they finally saw him open the door. They both jumped out. Luna helped Matteo stack boxes while Ambar ran to the lock and began to open it. Mateo looked at them surprised.

“Ambar wants to take pictures of the reports Sharon has from the fire.” Luna added quickly as she tried to pull him out of the room. Matteo would not budge. Ambar’s eyes told her to get him out so she did the only thing she could. She grabbed his collar and kissed him. It was a desperate kiss, full of frustration. She put her hands around his neck and her fingers into his hair as he pulled him out of the room and he kissed her back surprised. When they pulled away Ambar was back and urged them to go out the back door. 

Luna blushed as she tried to take in what just happened.

.-.-.-.-. 

“What the hell was that?” Matteo asked as both girls led him out of the garden and into the street. “And who is Sharon with? He seems familiar. Gives a bad vibe if you know what I mean.” 

“I don’t know who that was,” Ambar lied. Clearly remembering him in her delusions in the fire. “Everyone my aunt works with gives bad vibes. I especially hate Rey. I wanted to see the official report on the burning of the mansion. My aunt had been taunting me for weeks about what happened and I wanted to make sure she did not suspect anything.”

Matteo closed his eyes frustrated that he once again felt like they were hiding something, “and you and Luna got stuck in a closet why?”

“Sharon was coming the first time around and we had to hide.”

Matteo frowned at her, “Luna I know you're lying.” He looked at both of them.  _ I know you have been hiding something back from me for weeks now, and Ambar has something to do with it.  _ He thought. “Both of you are lying.”

Luna avoided his gaze. 

“So I get silence? This is the second time I get you two out of trouble, I’ll do it again and again for you anytime but I need to know what’s going on.” Seconds passed and Matteo started to walk away.

“Wait Matteo don’t leave!” Ambar called out. 

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” She said nothing. Matteo continued to walk away. 

“Wait Matteo!” Luna chased after him. Two blocks down and Matteo was still not stopping. 

She ran and jumped onto his back like they used to play in the park and then she held tight as he finally slowed down. 

“Luna,” he said angry but softly, “get off my back.”

“But I thought you liked it?” She teased. When he did not respond she unraveled herself and stood in front of him.

“I-I can’t tell you what’s going on with Ambar.” Matteo started to walk away again. “But I can tell you what’s going on with me!” This made him pause. “Let’s go to dinner.” She pointed at a small pizza shop. “It’s not going to be fancy but I can explain myself.” 

Matteo nodded slowly as she wrapped herself around him. “Thank you ,” she whispered. Luna could feel her body shaking again. 

In the shop they both ordered a combination pizza and sat down. Matteo looked angry and confused. 

“Matteo this is going to sound crazy, but you know my dreams? And know I know things about the mansion I should not? Like how in my dreams there was this box- oh never mind the point is I always find the things I dream about in the mansion. Before the fire and when we broke up I was looking into my past and-“

Matteo’s went wide, he knew it. The dreams were just too specific, and if he was honest as much as he hated Sharon he could see the resemblance. “You think you might be related to Ambar.” Luna nodded. “That’s crazy, what does Ambar think?”

Luna looked away, “I haven’t told her.” Matteo shook his head. 

“So you guys were not hiding because of this. There is yet another thing I am covering you for.”

“No. But it is why I vouched for her and why I’m trying to be better with her.” Luna took a deep breath. “But I also know that if I am wrong…” she trailed off.

Matteo sighed, “then you are putting your hopes up and messing with Ambars life. Wow okay.”

“You believe me?”

“I do” he said softly, “your dreams are somehow oddly convincing, and the fact,” he leaned closer, “that this necklace” he touched her necklace softly. “Is the one I saw in the article my dad has about the benson fire from before press release is pretty convincing.”

“What!” Luna cried out.

“Put your voice down. My father, who owns many things, owns a news company. He has every early version of the top stories and the very first version of the Benson fire story had a picture of the Bensons with Sol and that necklace. It did not click until the recent fire but My father told me Sharon did not want that photo out in public and paid him to use another one. They destroyed all the other early copies but one. Mostly because my father is petty.”

Luna said nothing. “So I might actually be Sol Benson.” She said, her voice giving out.

“Well maybe, Luna there are probably dozens of necklaces in that design. I don’t want you to get your hopes up, because if you're wrong this is an evil coincidence. And if we’re wrong you can cause major problems.”

“I know which is why I did not want to tell you.”

A message buzzed in her phone. 

_ The jeweler place is closing this week. You should go check it out, it’s close to downtown.  _

“It’s Nina. She found the jewelers where my necklace was made.”

“So you told Nina but not me, your boyfriend.”

“First of all Nina is my best friend.” She said with a smile. “Second she only knows I want to look into my past not that I actually have an idea of what that last may be.”

Matteo’s expression softens slightly, “okay but no more secrets.”

“Promise.”

The phone buzzed again. 

_ I can’t make it but today sorry, ask Matteo to go with you.  _

Luna passed the phone to Matteo and his eyes widened as he read them slowly out loud.

“Okay then let’s go. You and me.”

Luna turned her head sideways and smiled, “really?”

“Of course! Plus Nina makes it seem like life or death.”

_ Hey, this is Matteo. We’re on our way to the shop, Luna will update you later. _

“Let’s just finish this pizza first. I'm famished.”

.-.-.-.-.

Ambar tried to hold back a face of terror as she watched Matteo walk away with Luna running after him. Luna was going to tell him, and then what? She would have to explain yet another issue in her life. And for once she did not feel like sharing this info with Matteo.

Her mother had sent her letters.  _ But only because she thinks I’m in danger.  _

Could she actually be in danger? It was true that when she looked up the list of names most of them were of companies or businesses that were out of business. The only ones left were a jewelry store closing that week, an aquarium, a coffee shop chain and a design company. In the worst case Scenario where Sharon was behind all of this they were all too big to disperse overnight.

But did that even matter? No, instead her mind was a thunderstorm of feeling and rage. Because if this was true then she was somehow being tricked, and if not her birth mom or some kind of evil scam was messing with her mind and making her cry.

Like she told Luna, she did not have much to lose that she could not regain. No one respected her. Delfi and Jazmin had stopped talking to her after the fire. They claimed it was because they did not want to be part of Ambar’s schemes anymore but Ambar knew that it was all because deep down they were afraid of her. They were afraid of her ambition.

And Luna? All that caring talk must have been fake. Right?

Ambar wasn’t ready to forgive Luna just yet for screwing up her life. But for once Ambar had to accept that maybe they had both harmed each other beyond reason. 

What would she do now? Her godmother might be a murderer. Either way her birth mother did not even care to come in person to earn her. 

“Ambar are you okay?” A voice called out from the side of her. It was Luna’s other boyfriend Simon. The one who kept asking her if she was doing well after the fire. 

Ambar wiped her tears and straightened her posture. “Simon, I did not expect to see you here. In fact I did not mean to meet anyone here.”

“Nico likes the pizza near here and I was going to get us dinner. Are you okay?,” his voice held honest concern. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Come, tell me. I’m a good listener” he crossed his heart, “and I promise not to tell a soul.”

Ambar laughed, “a soul huh.”

“Exactly.”

“Not even Luna?”

He laughed, “yeah, not even her.”

Ambar closed her eyes. She should just cut him off and leave but she wanted to talk to someone so badly it hurt. “Let’s just say I’m having some family problems. You know my aunt.” He nodded. “Well she isn’t the best at expressing her feelings and I know she loves me. But we don’t see eye to eye. And today,” she paused, “I found out that she was hiding the fact that my birth mom was trying to get in contact with me. You see my adoption was a closed adoption. My birth parents aren’t supposed to get in contact with me and I never really expressed interest in getting to know them. Of course it would have been nice, and I’ve thought about it. Maybe they would care about me, but I never expected to ever hear from them, from her. And frankly I don’t want to.”

Simon took a deep breath, “wow that’s a lot. I’m here to listen whenever. Luna might be able to give you some advice she’s also adop-

“No,” Ambar said matter of factly.

“But I thought you two were getting along better at least it seemed like-

“We get along just fine,” she said clearly annoyed. “But it’s not something I want to be discussing with others.” Simon nodded. 

“Okay, well will you keep me in touch with what you decide?”

“Decide what?”

“If you're going to reach out?”

“Oh, I mean sure. If you want me to.”

“Yes,” Simon grabbed her hand, “that’s what friends are for right.”

Ambar smiled unsure. 

“Hey, do you want to go on a walk for awhile. It will get your mind off things for a bit.” 

Ambar stared at him surprised. “Do you know what? I would love that.”

Walking down the road Simon was the first to spot Rey and a tall man in a black suit talking in the back of an alleyway. Simon asked her a silent question with his eyes,  _ do you want to stay or leave. _

They paused and hid behind a set of trash cans. 

“Mr. Cardenas, all we ask is that you refrain about talking about your grandfathers business until Sharon signs total ownership. Keep your mouth shut about anything related to the Bensons.”

“Yes, Sir,” the man said softly.

Ambar pulled Simon away as Rey and the man passed. 

“What was that?” 

“Some kind of business deal I guess,” Ambar tried to shrug off. She dragged him to keep walking. The shop next store was in fact a jewelers store. The exact one she had researched earlier that day. She peaked in the window as the man entered his shop. He looked at her in surprise and then at Luna from within the store . Ambar continued walking quickly and changed the topic.

-.-.-.

(Five minutes earlier)

Matteo smiled down at Luna. He loved it when she was in her energetic mode, it was as if everything she touched glowed a little bit brighter. They were in the jewelry store, waiting for the owner to arrive. A young man was showing them around the store. 

“What’s this?” Luna asked, pointing to a glass box with 12 golden coins. 

The young man nodded, “that’s from my uncle's private collection. Each coin comes from a different family, one for each member of his father’s family friends. They were what you would call a “found family”. Now it’s a display to show customers the work he can do for their own commissions. I think I have showed you most of the store if you need anything I’ll be at the front.”

Luna looked puzzled as she looked at the coins. “These seem so familiar, especially these four,” she pointed at four coins sitting across from each other like a square.”

Matteo bent down and smiled, “well that one right here has a sun in that corner here see .” He pointed another one across from it. “And that one has a moon if you look closely. So that’s familiar. The other two on the other hand have two stars. Ooh I think they are Jupiter and Neptune the planets we can see closest to us.”

“That’s not it. The star ones remind me of someone. See here.”

Matteo looked more closely. And she was right, there was something oddly familiar about that star. It looked just like Ambar’s birthmark. He said so out loud. Her eyes widened as she nodded. 

From behind the store there was some arguing. And then entered the owner alone. He looked shocked to see them, more specifically he could have sworn he looked at Luna like he had seen a ghost. 

“What can I offer you? We make jewelry that’s one of a kind here, everything you see here is never replicated.” He said it so matter of factly that Matteo guessed he said this to every customer that came in.

Luna took off her necklace, “I’m looking for any information you may have about this necklace. It’s important to me.”

“I don’t know anything about this necklace, he said a little too quickly.”

“You made it correct?” Matteo called out.

“Yes.”

“So there must be something you know.”

The guy seemed to get nervous, looking around the room as if being watched. “You see that necklace was replicated so many many times I can have no clue who did or did not buy it over the years.”

“I thought you said the price was original.” Matteo asked accusingly.

“It is! Now. Umm you see 15 years ago when this necklace came out I was running my business differently. There were a lot of replicas back then, but now I am staying true to my work. No more replicas. Can I help you with anything else?”

Luna seemed to look around the room. Until her eyes meet a silver key hanging in display on the other side of the wall. “What’s this?”

“That” he said a little too loudly, “is not for sale. It's a family heirloom.”

“It's so familiar.” Luna mutters. 

The guy was getting annoyed now, “is there anything else?”

“No Thankyou.”

When they exited. Matteo felt a faint buzz from his phone. It was from Ambar. 

_ Hey, I’m not going to be there for dinner. Can you cover for me? Don’t forget dinner is in 30 minutes, get home quick.  _

_ So you're not going to tell me? Luna vouched for you  _ again. _ You are going to have to tell me what’s up eventually.  _

Matteo tucked away his phone in his pocket. It buzzed again 

_ Look at that, Luna isn’t an absolute snitch.  _

Matteo put his phone on silent. And turned it off.

Ambar growled at him as she typed in a final message.

_ Get home safe loser.  _


End file.
